This request is a re-wording of a question I asked in Oct. 2004 in the Spanish language thread. In the interest of full disclosure, if there are any responses to this thread, I plan to send a private message to selected posters as a means of receiving their permission for the inclusion of their post in the book I am editing on children's rhymes.

Here are my questions: Does anyone remember reciting a rhyme called
"Stella Ola Ola"? And if so, when, where, and how was it played?

"Stella Ola Ola" is the title I've seen most often in print but children who participated in the cultural groups that I held in my area performed it as a competitive handclap rhyme called "Srolla Ola Ola". They also performed a similar competitive hand clap rhyme called "Slap Billiola".

These rhymes are recited by children standing in a circle. At a designated starting point, on the beat of the rhyme, a child slaps the hand of the person standing clockwise to him/her. That child does the same until the person whose hand is slapped at the end of the rhyme is out. This continues until there are only two children. Those two slap hands back and forth until there is one child remaining. That child is designated "the winner". Elementary school girls and boys play this game together...

Here are the songs written phonetically. The first letter of syllables that are clapped is written in caps.

"STROLLA OLA OLA"

Strol La Ohl Lah Ohl La.
Slap, slap, slap.*
With ah "s" Shee Ka Shee Ka.
Shee Kah Shee Kah flap jack.
Fah lay, fah lay
Fah lay, fah lay , fah lay.
With ah 1-2-3-4-5. **   
*{these words are spoken}
** {another number could have been designated beforehand as the end}

---

"SLAP BILLIE OLA"

Slap Bill Lee Oh La.
Slap, slap, slap, slap.*
Hit it! **
San Dah Ree Koh Ree Koh Ree Koh Ree Koh.
Slap 1-2-3-4.
* these words are spoken
** optional, if spoken they are also used for slaps
---

I'm also wondering if these songs have a Spanish language origin, for instance, "Sandarico"="Senorita" and "chica" {Shee Kah}"=girl

Thank you.